When All Else Falls Away, Part 1
by Isabel-7
Summary: The turtles' characters are tested in a way they never could have imagined... It's done! It's done! Thank you, and goodnight!
1. Oblivion

*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  Please don't sue me, I don't have any money.  Thanks J

Chapter 1: Oblivion

Note: I know, I know…this is really short.  I've just been trying to sit down and write this story for so long and I chicken out every time.  I'm hoping that getting this up will force me to keep going with it.  Feedback is appreciated!

Leonardo:

It's dark here.  It feels like it's been dark forever.  I know I should be scared, but I just don't have the energy for it.  I know my brothers are here-I can feel them-and I wish I could talk to them, but it's so dark and I'm so tired.  It feels like I'm constantly floating somewhere between waking and dreaming.

I hope this is a dream.  I hope it's the longest dream I've ever had.  I hope I'll wake up soon.

Donatello:

I wonder sometimes if I'm dead.  I know there was a fight, and someone ambushed us, but I can't remember anything after that.  I'll be the first one to admit that for all my knowledge I'm just as ignorant as the next guy when it comes to the afterlife.  I guess I was expecting more.  You know, a tunnel and bright white light and all of that, but it's just always dark here.  I thought once that I felt water over my hand.  It was warm.  I haven't felt anything since then.  

Michaelangelo:

I really don't want to die.  Yeah, I know it's probably too late for that, but still I can't help it.  In my gut I know something is just so wrong and I know it's the same for my brothers.  I'm glad that it's hard for my mind to think because I really don't want to think too hard about what's happening.  I want it to be over and I want everything to be okay.  I know I'm asking for a lot.  I just don't want to die, not like this.

Raphael:

I want to scream.  I want to kick, punch, snap, smash, anything…anything but this.  This is just…nothingness.  I'd feel like I was going crazy, except I think I might already be there and it's just getting worse.  I've even tried Splinter's thing about concentrating on the rhythm of my breath, but I'm not even sure that I'm breathing.  I can't feel anything.  I could be dead, I'll admit the thought has crossed my mind…and it would make sense, because this sure feels like hell.


	2. First Glimpse

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they belong to Eastman & Laird.  The other characters are mine though, so please don't borrow without permission.  Thanks!_ Chapter 2: First glimpse 

**Michaelangelo:**

So much time had passed since I had felt anything from my body that at first when I felt warmth on my arm I thought I was dreaming.  It felt real though.  I concentrated on it as hard as I could.  I realized that it felt like a hand.  Someone's hand was on my arm.  I think I should have been scared not knowing where I was or who was touching me, but I wasn't.  I kept concentrating on that hand and I started to feel like I was being pulled up from a dark hole.  Things started to get lighter and I could feel things, hear things.  I heard voices.  I couldn't make them out well enough to tell if they were male or female.  For the first time in what I felt had been forever, I could start to feel some of my body—some, not all.  I was very aware of my head now.  It felt really heavy.  I couldn't move it, so I tried opening my eyes.  They didn't want to open, but I kept concentrating and it kept getting lighter.  I opened them a little and they shut again immediately.  There was too much light.  I tried again and opened them a little more before closing them again, giving them a chance to adjust.  I opened them a third time and squinted.  The hand left my arm, but I looked in that direction.  I couldn't see very well, but someone was standing beside me.  They were talking.  I blinked a couple of times, trying to get my eyes to focus.  Slowly the images started to look less fuzzy.  There was a woman standing beside my bed, but she was facing away from me.  She was talking to someone I couldn't see.  I finally got my head to move a little and looked to either side of me.  I could just make out Raph on my right…at least I think it was Raph.  He was lying on a bed and there were little monitors and machines all around him.  Something didn't look right about him though.  I wondered if that was how I looked lying there, if there were machines monitoring me too.  I was pretty sure there were.  I wanted to know where I was.  I wanted to talk to the woman, but I didn't know how to get her attention.  I hadn't tried my voice yet, but I figured it was worth a shot.  I tried to say "Hey," but it ended up coming out like a low moan.  It was enough though, and she turned around.

**Panaceia:**

I was in mid-sentence talking with Athena when I heard the "nnngh" come from the bed beside me.  I didn't finish what I was saying, but just turned around.  I knew he was in the best shape of the four of them, but I really hadn't expected him to wake so soon.  He was looking at me, but his eyes were somewhat glazed and I could tell he wasn't yet completely aware of his surroundings, or even his own body.  Good, I wasn't ready to explain anything yet.

"Hi."  I moved a little closer to him so that he could see me and I smiled.

He made another unintelligible sound, but managed what I thought was supposed to be a smile.  I knew my only goal right now was to make him feel safe so that he would continue resting.  Everything else could be explained later.

"My name is Panaceia.  I'm going to get you better.  You have nothing to worry about.  I just need you to keep resting and get stronger."

He made a face and I could tell he wanted to say something to me.  I rested my hand on his forehead.

"I'll explain everything for you later.  You need to sleep now.  I promise, you're safe and sound and you have nothing to worry about."

**Michaelangelo:**

I heard what she was saying, but I just wanted to know where everybody else was and if they were okay.  I tried to speak again, but she just gave me a soft "shhh" and moved her hand across my forehead.  I didn't really want to sleep, but at the same time I was helpless against the overwhelming need to do just that.  My eyelids suddenly got very heavy and I just gave myself up to it.


	3. Trepidation

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they belong to Eastman & Laird.  The other characters are mine though, so please don't borrow without permission.  Thanks!_ Chapter 3: Trepidation 

**Panaceia:**

I couldn't remember the last time I felt so nervous.  I kept going over the lines in my head like I was rehearsing for an audition or something.  It wasn't like me to be this nervous, but I felt a certain obligation to them.  I had to choose my words carefully and I had to say them just right.  I shook my head again.  Part of me wanted to think that I had even the slightest bit of control over how they would react.  The truth?  I knew that no matter how I broke it to them it was going to be devastating.  I sighed to myself.  I hadn't slept much in the last few days; I felt the need to keep a constant vigil over them.  I wasn't sure that I was ready for this, and at the same time I knew I couldn't wait any longer.  As it was I'd been sedating Michaelangelo for almost two days.  This morning Raphael had woken and this afternoon Donatello had opened his eyes briefly.  I couldn't justify sedating them any more.  I needed to wake them up and I needed to tell them the truth.

**Athena: **

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" I asked her.

"No, really, I should do this alone.  I'm the only one any of them has set eyes on so far and I don't want to bring new faces into the picture just yet."  

"That's probably true.  Look, I'll go keep an eye on the other one while you're in there doing your thing."

"Leonardo."

"What?"

"His name is Leonardo, not 'the other one'."

"Oh, right.  Sorry, I just haven't gotten used to their names yet."  

Iris and Psyche had nearly exhausted the files we'd downloaded from the lab computers before finding out a thing about our guests.  I still wasn't sure that those were their real names, but Panaceia said Michaelangelo had responded when she used his name so I figured we'd just go with it then.  It was pretty much "whatever Panaceia says, goes" when it came to them anyway.

"Okay, so I'll go check in on Leonardo and you go ruin their lives?"

"Athena, that is just so not funny."

"Sorry, I was just trying to lighten you up a little.  You have to look at it this way—at least they're not dead or being used to further somebody else's sick and twisted little agenda.  They're going to be fine and they're nobody's prisoners here."

"Yeah, I know you're right, I just don't think they're going to see it like that."

"Give them time.  They'll be alright."

"I hope you're right."

"Aren't I always?"  I flashed her one of my evil grins and headed off to check on Leonardo.

**Panaceia:**

Athena could be so incorrigible when she wanted to be.

The thing is, I knew she was right, but I still couldn't get my throat to swallow that stupid lump as I entered the room where they were.  I'd seen the files; I knew that they were strong, fast, well trained, and very talented.  It was just hard to see that when they were lying there.  They just looked so…fragile.

I tapped the commands in on the keyboard and waited.  I gave them each equal doses to counter-act the sedative.  Any moment now, they'd be waking up.  I just hoped they would accept their new reality.

_So, any guesses where I'm going with this?  The next chapter will tell…_


	4. Twilight

Chapter 4: Twilight 

**Michaelangelo: **

I felt like I'd just been hit by a bus.  I could hear the words coming out of her mouth, and yet it was like I just couldn't take them in any more.  My brain was still caught on that one sentence and I couldn't quite get my thoughts around it.  "I really can't say why at this point, but they removed your shells…" She said the words, and all my thoughts just froze up.  They removed your shells.  I didn't know who "they" were; I really didn't care right at that moment.  I couldn't look over at Donatello or Raphael.  I couldn't even look down at myself.  I had no idea where it came from, but a thought occurred to me and snapped me out of it.

"Where's Leonardo?"

I realized that I'd interrupted whatever she was saying, but I didn't care.  She stopped in mid-sentence and looked at me.

"He is…in another room.  He is not as far along in the healing process as the 3 of you and he needs more time.  He's under very close supervision.  He will be fine; it's just going to take him a little longer."

"If you're in here with us, who's monitoring him?"  Donatello's voice sounded unusually flat.  I still couldn't look at him.

"My sister, Athena.  She's very well trained in medicine.  She's the one who got your brother out of there; she's quite concerned with his well-being."

She didn't say anything else, but stood there and looked at us as though she were waiting for one of us to speak.  If she was waiting on me, she was going to stand there for a while.

I really wanted to go back to sleep.  I couldn't think about this.  I didn't want to have to think about it ever.  I wanted to sleep and wake up again and be back in my own bed, being woken up by Raph and Leo having another argument.  That would sound like music to my ears at this point.  I just couldn't really imagine Raph and Leo arguing again.  I couldn't imagine anything ever being the same again.

**Donatello:**

I shut the emotional part of my brain off.  Well, as much as anyone can do that, really.  I only wanted the science part right now.  I needed the logical part of my brain to tell me that it just wasn't possible.  To be honest, from what I knew about our anatomy, it wasn't.  Our shells were fused with our vertebrae.  Well, once upon a time they were, anyway.  How the hell could you take it off without killing us, or paralyzing us?  And why?  Why would anyone want to do such a thing?  I quickly re-directed my thoughts away from that line of questioning.  I didn't want to go there.  

I'm a turtle, a mutant turtle, but still a turtle.  Turtles have shells.  How the hell can you be a turtle if you don't have a shell?  My mind was just inundating itself with questions--questions that I didn't have the answers to.  I wanted to ask this woman, but I just couldn't speak.  Raphael and Michaelangelo were silent.  I wanted to turn my head a little and look over at Mike, but I couldn't.  I didn't want to see him that way; I didn't want to see myself that way.

I could feel myself getting angry, and I didn't get angry very often.  That's always been Raphael's job.  I could only imagine what my brothers were feeling because there was no way I was going to ask.

**Raphael:**

Never in my whole life had I wanted to be as angry as I did right at that moment.  I've been told, over and over, that anger makes me weak.  I've never cared, and I still don't.  Well, maybe I care, but I'm powerless to fight it at any rate.  How ironic that at that time, when I needed my anger the most, I couldn't find it.  I couldn't get mad because I couldn't feel anything.  I hate being angry all the time; hell, I get madder just because I get mad.  As much as I hate it, it's me.  It's comforting.  I'm comfortable being pissed off.  My emotions right then, or the lack thereof, were just so unknown to me.

I knew even then that I was just trying to distract myself by thinking about what I was feeling instead of thinking about what was right in front of me.  I couldn't feel much below my neck.  I didn't really know what that was about and right then I didn't care.  I could feel enough to know she told us the truth.  I could feel that it wasn't there.  It felt sort of like waking up in somebody else's body.  It just didn't feel…right.

The silence in there might as well have been another person, it was so present.  Somebody needed to say something because it was uncomfortable as hell in that room and there was no way I was going to trust my voice to break the silence.

As if she was reading my mind, she looked at us and said, "I know this is a lot for you to take in right now.  I can't imagine how you're feeling.  Please know that you're in the very best hands and you will be just fine.  Your bodies are going to feel strange to you as the feeling starts to return, but that's normal.  The most important things you can do right now is get plenty of rest and just try to prepare yourself mentally for recovery.  You're going to be back on your feet before you know it."

**Panaceia:**

I'm not even sure that they heard anything I said, but I felt better just saying it to them.  I just wished there was something more that I could do.

"Well, I'll leave you three alone, if you want to talk.  I won't go far so if you need anything just give a shout."

There was no response from any of them.

I turned around and gathered my things to bring down the hall.  When I turned back to face them, Donatello was staring straight at me.  There was so much in his eyes that I was unable to speak.   I didn't have to.

"You've been sedating us, right?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that, but since honesty was usually the best policy, I went ahead.  "Well, yes, but I just wanted the chance to explain things to the three of you at once."

"Good.  Sedate me again."

"Excuse me?"  I hadn't really been expecting that.

"Whatever you were using before, I don't care, I just want you to give it to me again."

"But…"

"Me too."  I turned and looked at Michaelangelo.  The look on his face nearly broke my heart.  I sighed inwardly.  I should have taken Psyche's advice.  She had suggested that we brace their minds before waking them and telling them, but I had insisted on doing it my way.  It was obvious they weren't ready, and they would rather feel nothing than what they were feeling.  I didn't feel I had much choice except to respect their wishes.  I would have to try to repair the damage once they were under again.  

"Raphael?"  I had to know if he shared their feeling.

He nodded.

I turned again and tapped the commands into the computer.  I ended with the obligatory tap on the 'Enter' key.  

"You'll feel drowsy again in a moment, then you'll return to sleep.  Try to remember that things will be better when you wake again."

I quickly turned and left the room.  

**Donatello:**

She seemed really nice, but I didn't think she had a clue what she was talking about.  From where I was lying there wasn't much chance that things would be better unless I woke up and found out this was a dream, or a joke.  It would be a really sick joke.  She was right about the sedative though; I could feel the darkness returning.  Funny that I couldn't wait to leave this before and now I was welcoming it back.   


	5. Meanwhile...

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they belong to Eastman & Laird.  The other characters are mine though, so please don't borrow without permission.  Thanks!_

**Chapter 5**

**Athena:**

I checked all of his vitals and pulled up the history.  He was improving, but not enough to take the edge off my concern just yet.  I looked at him floating in the tank chamber, tubes and wires everywhere.  I knew that it was for his own good, and essential for the final bonding stages of the second skin, but it still didn't seem right.

I flattened my hand against the outer shield of the tank.  I knew more about him than I let on to anyone.  I had just been playing with Panaceia; I knew his name, I knew lots about him.  He was a ninja, a proud warrior.  He believed in things like honor and decency, strong morals and discipline.  I knew that he would hate to see himself in that chamber.  He would hate how weak he was, and he was very weak.

I hadn't meant to find all of that out.  It just…happened.  I thought back…had it only been a week ago?  It seemed much longer.  Rhea told us about the "company" that worked out of that building.  Her instructions were clear: clear the lab and take all files, then level it and don't leave a trace.  It was pretty standard as our jobs went.  She just didn't prepare us for what we were going to find.  We didn't know what she meant by "clear the lab" until we saw it for ourselves.  If it weren't for my training, I probably would have been sick.   I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would do that to them.  It just didn't make any sense.  We'd combed the files and still found no answer.  We could have interrogated someone who worked there, but we'd made short work of all of them upon arrival.  If we had only known…maybe we could have held onto one or two of them.  Oh well, it was too late to worry about that now.

I ran my hand across the shield, still lost in my own thoughts…we'd each grabbed one of them, and Iris helped me with Leonardo.  He was in much worse condition than the others; the lab had very obviously not gotten as far in the process with him.  He was so bad that we weren't sure he would make it.  On the way out, Iris left me with him to make sure we all had a clear path out.  I had to be so careful with him; I didn't realize we were going so slowly.  The explosives had already been set.  I heard the first one detonate just as I got him outside.  I knew there was no way I could get us completely clear in time.  I heard Iris yell something to me, but it was lost in the blast.  It knocked us back a good 15 feet, and I made sure that I took the whole hit.  As soon as I'd absorbed the impact, I moved myself over him to act as a shield.  My suit protected me from the heat anyway.  I realized as I was above him that I was losing him.  He was dying right in front of me.  I panicked.  Normally I'd have more control, but for some reason I just panicked.  I kept him alive the only way I could think of right then…I tapped into his very life force and wouldn't let it go.  Now, that's one of my gifts I'm not really supposed to use, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.  By the time Panaceia and Iris got to us, and I knew they could take over, he'd printed on me already.  I probably knew a few things about him that he didn't even know about himself.  Knowing what I knew about Leonardo, I didn't think he'd like that very much.  I also knew my sisters would definitely disapprove (even though it had been unintentional), so I thought it best to just keep the information to myself.  So without letting on to anyone, I would use what I knew to help him in any way that I could.  I also knew he felt responsible for his brothers, so I would make sure they were taken care of for him.

**Panaceia:**

Forget about a penny for your thoughts.  I would have given thousands to know what the hell she was thinking about, standing there with her hand on the case, her mind light years away.

Well, I guess the third time's a charm.  I said her name again.

"Athena!"

"What?"  She snapped out of her reverie and turned to look at me.  Actually, I probably would have paid more than thousands…she could be so damn secretive.  I knew my sister well enough to know that asking was useless so I moved on.

"Well, that's done."

"How'd it go?"

"Well, about as well as I thought it would go.  Maybe worse.  They're all sleeping soundly."  Athena gave me a puzzled look, so I explained.  "They asked to be sedated again."

"Oh.  They took it that well, huh?"

"I need you or Psyche to go perform some damage control."

"I'll do it."

"You don't have to, Athena.  You're actually looking a little tired."

"No, I'm fine, I want to take care of it."

"Do you want me to get Psyche to help?"

"I've got it covered, no worries.  Just concentrate on working your medical magic on Leonardo."

I looked over the vitals on the screen.  Better.  Not good, but better.  "Yes, I know.  As soon as I can get his vitals a little stronger again I have to do the final application.  If all goes well we should be able to take him out of there in the next day or so."

"Good."

"Mmm…"  I looked at him suspended in the tank.  "I hate having him in there, but it's what has to be done.  I'm glad the others aren't in here.  I don't think they'd like seeing that very much."

"Speaking of…I've got work to do.  Let me know when you're ready to complete the phase on him and I'll help."

"Sure."

"You know, you're doing a great job with them.  You shouldn't be so hard on yourself…"

I forced a smile because I knew that was what she wanted to see.  "I'll let you know when I'm ready."

**Athena:**

"I'll let you know how it goes."

"Thanks."

One thing was for sure—I wasn't the only one making this personal.  We'd helped countless people out, medically and otherwise.  It wasn't often that Panaceia formed such an obvious empathetic connection with our "clients."

I cleared my thoughts as best I could as I walked down the hall.  Now was the time to concentrate on the task at hand…


	6. New Perspective

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

**Chapter 6**

**Donatello:**

I woke up feeling rested.  I stretched my arms above my head and yawned.  The plastic tube going into my arm reminded me that I was in unfamiliar surroundings.  I quickly looked around the room and realized that aside from my brothers asleep in their beds, I was alone.  I couldn't really remember where we were or why, but for some reason I felt at ease.  The room seemed familiar although I couldn't remember ever really seeing it before.  

I sat up and looked over at Mike.  He appeared to be sleeping peacefully.  I turned my head and saw that Raph was also lost in sleep.  There were monitors on the wall on the other side of his bed and I squinted, trying to read what was on them.  I couldn't make it out from where I was sitting.  I wanted to go over there, but I knew that my short little IV tube wasn't going to let me get that far.  

I felt fine and figured I probably didn't really need the IV.  I looked down at my arm to see if I could just pull it out, and immediately saw something that wasn't right.  I tilted my head down completely, starting at my own chest.  Tentatively, I brought my right hand in and carefully touched one finger to the skin there.  I pulled it back immediately; the sensation of it was completely foreign.   I studied the skin carefully; it looked just the same as the skin everywhere else on my body, but I felt as though I'd never seen it before.  Well, technically, I hadn't.  I gently poked at the skin again.  My plastron had prohibited almost any feeling to the area that it covered.  To feel such a light touch was strange.  I touched two fingers to my stomach.  The skin felt just the same as on the rest of my body.  I was so fascinated by my new form, and yet somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that I was upset about it as well.  Right now I didn't really care though; I was only thinking how I wanted a mirror so I could see what my back looked like.  

"Is that what I look like now?"  Michaelangelo's interruption startled me and I looked over to see him staring at me.  I quickly studied him and nodded, "I think so."

"Wow.  It's weird."  He touched a finger to his chest just as I had done, and I watched as his body twitched at an involuntary chill.  "It kind of tickles."

I almost laughed, but thought better of it.  I wasn't really happy about this, I reminded myself.  Someone had taken something from me that they had no right to take.  At the same time, it was hard not to be entertained by the sheer wonder in Mike's eyes.

**Raphael:**

It was quite a picture watching those two sitting there inspecting themselves like alien specimens.  I was pretty curious to see what my own body looked like, but I didn't want to let them know that I was awake and I kind of wanted to be alone when I did look.  They still looked the same, sort of, but smaller.  They definitely looked smaller.  We'd been pretty upset about the loss before, but you really wouldn't know it now, watching them.  Even I felt sort of ambivalent about it.  I carefully placed a hand over my stomach.  Mikey was right; it did feel weird.  I mean, it wasn't like I never felt anything through my plastron before, especially a well-planted punch or kick.  This was different.  I smiled in spite of myself; it did almost tickle.

**Athena:**

I wanted to go run and get Panaceia, but I wasn't sure that I should leave them alone any longer.  They looked pretty occupied, but still, she had sent me to check on them.  We'd both been so wrapped up in getting Leonardo all set that we'd left them alone for a while.  It was obvious my earlier efforts were successful.  They weren't exactly jumping up and down over their new, lighter forms, but they didn't look too upset about it either.  Even Raphael, who was doing a great job of pretending to sleep down on the end, seemed more curious than anything.  Panaceia would love this.  

I quietly entered the room; I didn't want to startle anybody.

"Hi there."

Michaelangelo and Donatello snapped their heads to look at me, and Raphael lifted his off the pillow.

"I'm Athena; Panaceia's sister."

Michaelangelo narrowed his eyes a little and looked me up and down.  "You're taking care of Leo."

"Um, usually, yes, while Panaceia's in here with you.  Right now she's taking care of your brother so she sent me in here to check on you."

"How is he?"

"He's doing much better.  We're hoping to bring him in here with the three of you in the next day or so."

**Raphael:**

I hate it when other people have the upper hand.  I didn't know this chick from a hole in the wall, but she obviously knew enough about us.  Still, she was at least partially responsible for the fact that we weren't dead, so I was willing to give her a shot—a small one.

"Where exactly are we?"  She apparently hadn't been expecting me to speak, and I ignored my brothers' surprise that I was awake.  She stared at me for a few seconds before speaking.

"Well, you're in the medical center of my home.  This whole area is in the basement of the building."

She and I both knew that answer wasn't what I was looking for.  I gave her another shot.

"Where is this building?"

She sighed and looked at me seriously.  "Look, this is all rather complicated, but I'll try to give you the simple version.  I have four sisters.  We live here alone…here being a small island base in the Pacific Ocean.  We are human, but we're different from any other human beings you've ever met.  You'll figure that out later.  We work for someone called Rhea, she's sort of like our surrogate mother.  Mostly we try to keep this planet a little safer and better for its inhabitants; essentially we're trying to protect them from themselves.  Anyway, we found the four of you during a mission and brought you back here.  Our technology is not exactly standard, so we knew we could do a much better job of healing you than anyone else.  And I guess that's pretty much about it."

Yep, that was the answer I was looking for, but definitely not the one I was expecting.


	7. A Few Questions Answered

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

Chapter 7: 20 Questions 

**Michaelangelo:**

I was feeling a lot better since we called home and found out Splinter was alright.  We'd tried calling April, but there was no one home so we left a message.  I wished I could see the look on her face when she got home and listened to that one.  We didn't tell anybody what had happened to us, just that we were okay.  I personally didn't want to have to explain to anyone else what I didn't understand myself.  Don, Raph and I had been sitting here talking with Panaceia and Athena trying to figure it all out.  We'd explained our whole story to them and they were trying to fill us in on how we'd gotten here, exactly.  As usual, I felt like an idiot because I just wasn't getting it.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute…let me see if I have this right.  You're telling me that some jerks snagged us off the street during a fight none of us remember, took us to their lab, and for no apparent reason decided we really didn't need our shells anymore…and you don't know who, or why, or how? 

**Panaceia:**

"Yes, that is what I'm saying.  We weren't exactly expecting to find the four of you there, so we didn't worry too much about gathering any information other than what was in the computer files.  We do have reason to believe that what was going on in that building was part of a larger organization.  Two of our sisters are actually out right now looking into it, but it's difficult since there was no name on the building and no company name on any of the files."

Raphael had been looking annoyed throughout the conversation.  "Okay, explain this to me again about you guys and your sisters…"

I shared a quick look with Athena before I began.  I wasn't sure exactly how much information that I should divulge, but I also felt that they deserved the truth.  After all, they were going to be here with us for a while it seemed.

"There are five of us.  We were all rescued as infants from mothers who did not want us.  Rhea, our "mother," raised us until we were 15, and then she left because she had to return to her home.  She still guides us though, but now she does it remotely.  We were all named after ancient Greek goddesses.  Iris, Psyche, Nemesis, Athena, and Panaceia.  We don't necessarily embody our namesakes, but in some ways we do.  Iris was a messenger goddess.  She's the "big sister" of the five of us.  She takes charge in most situations, and she doesn't take much crap from anybody.  Psyche was the goddess of the human soul.  That's pretty accurate for her, actually.  You'll meet her later and you'll get a better picture.  Nemesis was the goddess of justice and Neme, that's what we call her, is the epitome of her name.  She has very strong ideas of right and wrong and you don't ever want to come across her if she feels you're in the wrong.  She's got a mean streak like no one you've ever seen.  Don't get me wrong though, she's a sweetheart as long as you're on her good side and she can be pretty open minded when she wants to be.  She and Psyche are out checking into leads on that laboratory right now.  Of course you've already met Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom.  She'll tell you her name doesn't fit her, but the rest of us beg to differ."  I didn't have to look at Athena to know she was giving me one of her patented looks.  "And I'm Panaceia, goddess of healing.  I don't think anyone will argue about the appropriateness of that."

"You know how ridiculous that all sounds, right?"  Raphael had gone from annoyed to amused.

"Well, yes, I suppose, but no more so than being four mutated turtles living in a sewer studying martial arts and having been named after artists of the Renaissance."

Raphael glared at me.  Well, so much for amused, we were definitely back to annoyed.

Donatello, however, certainly wasn't annoyed.  He'd been sitting there soaking everything up like a sponge.  Obviously having a good grip on the whole story, he was ready to fill in the holes.  "You said earlier that you weren't exactly human.  What exactly are you then?"

**Athena:**

"Oh, I didn't say we weren't human.  I just said we weren't like any humans you'd ever known before.  When Rhea rescued us as babies, she basically ran our genes through the wringer.  No pun intended."  Mikey was the only one who seemed to have caught it, anyway.  "She wanted us to be…perfect, for lack of a better word.  She also unlocked a few gene codes for us that basically jumped us up the evolutionary ladder a few rungs.  So we're human; we're just the future version."

I could almost see the wheels turning in Donatello's head.  I anticipated his next question.

"So you're wondering what that means exactly?  Well, it means we run faster, jump higher, hit harder, and we can do things with our minds that humans now pretty much only dream about."

"Like what?"  Michaelangelo asked.

"Well, take that thing you call "sixth sense," for instance.  That really and truly is a sixth sense for us.  We use it every day, all the time.  It's what lets us stay one step ahead of people, but just not each other."  I threw Panaceia a grin; she knew what I was talking about.

"So can you read minds and stuff?"

"Well, yes…and no.  I can't get into your head and tell _exactly_ what you're thinking, but I can get a "feeling" from your thoughts."  Raphael suddenly looked worried, and just a bit defensive.  I thought I'd better qualify that last statement.  "We don't just go around reading minds though; it takes a good deal of concentration so we only do it if we really need to for our own safety or others'.  It's an ethical thing."

"Oh."  Michaelangelo yawned, although he was obviously very interested in the conversation.  It reminded me though that they were only beginning to heal and they still needed lots of rest.  Panaceia seemed to have been thinking the same thing.

**Panaceia:**

"Well, if you can possibly hold the rest of your questions for morning, I really think we could all use some rest and some time to process what we've learned about each other.  We'll have plenty of time for questions later."

Donatello looked for a moment like he might argue with me, but thought better of it.  We got them settled and left.  I had a feeling they would keep talking after we were gone, but that was okay.  They needed some time to themselves.

Without a word, Athena and I both turned right to go check on Leonardo.  We had finished his final treatment and now had him lying comfortably on a bed…well, comfortable being a relative term.  He still had as many monitors on him as before, tubes and wires everywhere.  We checked and double-checked every stat until we were satisfied that we could go get some much-needed rest as well.


	8. Last but not least

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

Chapter 8 

**Athena:**

I'd never seen the man before in my life, but it was obvious he wanted me dead and I wasn't going down without a fight.  We'd been battling each other for what felt like hours.  I was tired and drenched in sweat.  My katana felt heavy in my grip and I was having a hard time wielding it.  He lunged at me again, and I ducked away, narrowly missing the tip of his sai.  I jumped into a reverse spin kick and suddenly found myself on my back.  It happened so fast I wasn't sure how.  I moved to get up, but he was on top of me already.  When did he get so fast?  He was above me, laughing.  I suddenly had the worst pounding in my head.  The more I tried to block his laughter, the louder it became.  I tried to get up, but he had me pinned.  I didn't have my katana and I couldn't see it anywhere.  I kicked my legs with no effect.  His hands went around my neck and suddenly I couldn't breathe.  I pulled as hard as I could, but couldn't break free from his grasp.  I gave a futile gasp for air.  I felt dizzy and I suddenly heard a noise…it was distant but it sounded like it was getting closer…a soft beeping…

I bolted upright in bed, the sheets and covers thrown this way and that around me.  I took a few breaths and appreciated the cool air in my lungs.  I felt like I'd been choking and remembered my dream.  My dream…what was that all about?  That certainly wasn't a typical nightmare for me, it almost felt like…suddenly it hit me and I couldn't get out the door fast enough.

I sprinted down the hallway screaming at the computer to open the lift door.  It opened just enough by the time I got to it and I squeezed inside, ordering it to the basement.  I had never known that lift to go so slow in my whole life.  My veins were surging with adrenaline.  The doors opened and I ran out, hitting a full tilt run as I rounded the corner, nearly plowing over Michaelangelo.  
"What the hell?"  I looked at him in amazement.  "What are you doing out of bed?"

"We heard a noise…"

I looked over and saw Raphael and Donatello standing by the doors to the room where we had Leonardo.  They looked worried, but not nearly as worried as I was.  

"Open B2!"  The doors slid open at my command.  "Lights!"  The lights came up and I saw that my concern was justified.  Leonardo was thrashing on the bed, only half-conscious and trying to breathe around the tube that was down his throat.  The monitors were screeching like crazy all around him.  I was beside him in two seconds, pulling every tube and wire off and out of him.  I wasn't even sure that was what I was supposed to be doing, but it seemed like the right thing at the time.  He choked and coughed, trying to get air.  I knelt on the bed, pulling him up and turning him to the side.  His body convulsed as though he were trying to vomit, but nothing came.  I didn't know what else to do, so I just held him, rubbing his back and whispering for him to relax.  A minute or so later, he did just that.  His chest heaved with each breath, but he was quiet and still.

Michaelangelo moved beside the bed and lowered himself into his brother's line of vision.

"Hey man, glad you could join us."  He gave him a smile that made my heart melt.

"Hi Mike."  His voice was low and scratchy.

"Heh, and I thought _we_ were in bad shape!"  Raphael chuckled to himself as he looked at his brother, but he was obviously relieved that he was okay.

I moved Leonardo to lie back on the bed so that he could see his brothers.  It was then that he noticed me.

"Hi…I'm Athena."

"Hi."  He looked up and down over me and it was only then that I realized I hadn't bothered to put a robe or anything on when I'd left my bedroom.  Thank god I'd decided to sleep with my underwear on tonight, or this could have been _extremely_ embarrassing, as opposed to just _really_ embarrassing.  I blushed a little and lowered my head.  

"Can I get you anything…water, tea?"

"Actually, tea would be really good."

Thank god--an excuse to leave. 

"No problem, I'll go get it and I'll leave it to you three to just fill him in."

I smiled at them, and got three rather mischievous smiles in return.  I didn't even glance again at Leonardo and quickly turned and walked out, trying to ignore the four sets of eyes burning holes in my backside…


	9. Destiny

  


_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

Chapter 9 

**Athena:**

I headed back down the hall, teacup and saucer in hand.  I'd thrown on one of my training suits since it was the nearest available clothing.  As I entered the room again, it was obvious the mood had changed in my absence.

Only Michaelangelo looked up as I came in, the others were too occupied with their own thoughts.  Leonardo was repeating the scene I'd witnessed yesterday, trying to accept what was in front of him.  I was glad they were the ones to break the news.

"Here you go.  I put honey and lemon in it, I hope you don't mind."

He gave me a weak smile and accepted the tea.

"I'm sure they've told you all of the important stuff—are there any questions I can answer for you?"

He took a few sips of tea before replying.  "How long have we been here?"

"Almost two weeks now."

"Don't worry, we already called Splinter and April."  Michaelangelo attempted to put his brother at ease.

"Donatello said that you have four sisters, that you all live here."

"Yes.  Speaking of which, I should probably go wake Panaceia.  She'll have a fit when she finds out you're awake and I didn't call her…"

"You saved our lives."

I didn't really know what to say to that.  I looked up at him, trying to communicate in a look what I couldn't in words.  I didn't need his gratitude, I didn't want it.  They probably would have lived if we hadn't taken them out of there, though I doubted that they would have wanted to live that life.  I just wished that it had never happened, although I was glad they were with us now.

None of us spoke for a few minutes.  Suddenly it dawned on me that the other three were out of bed—and standing!  

"Wait a minute!  You know you guys aren't supposed to be out of bed!"

Michaelangelo's eyes got wide as though he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.  Donatello lowered his head a little and Raphael just looked anywhere but me.  

"I feel fine."  Donatello sheepishly replied.

"That's not really the point; we haven't even completed all of the exams to make sure that it's okay for you to be walking around!"

"Well, obviously it is."  Raphael said sarcastically.

"Obviously nothing.  Panaceia would kick all of our asses if she saw this!  Quick—back in bed before I get her down here!"

"But, what about Leo?"

"Michaelangelo, I'll bring him next door with the rest of you as soon as Panaceia says it's okay.  The sooner you go get back in bed, the sooner we can make that happen."

They grumbled and whined, but did as they were told.  Once I was sure they were all settled in, I paged Panaceia and returned to Leonardo.

He was lying on the bed, staring blankly in front of him.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"Mmm…okay, I guess, considering…"

"I'm really sorry, Leonardo."

"Why?  It's not your fault."

"I just wish we could have been there sooner."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but looked at me intently.

"Our sensei would say that everything happens for a reason and that you were never meant to find us before you did."

"Ah, the "leave it to fate" perspective.  I struggle with that.  I have a hard time accepting the idea that our lives are all planned out for us before we begin."

"You like thinking you're in control of your destiny."

"Don't you?"

Again he didn't reply right away.  "I suppose I do, but at the same time I think that's a weakness.  To struggle against fate is a fight you can't win."

"So you believe it was your destiny to have your shell removed, almost die, and end up in my basement to be nursed back to health?"

"But I didn't die.  I'm here, and my brothers are here.  Despite what's happened, we're all in pretty good shape.  I'd call that destiny."

"I'd call it luck."

"Well, whatever you want to call it, we're in debt to you and your sisters."

Before I could reply, Panaceia came bursting into the room.  She fussed over Leonardo, who started to look uncomfortable with the whole thing, for a good 20 minutes before deciding that we could move him next door with the others.  We've called her "mother hen" before.  I chuckled to myself as she played her role perfectly.

We moved Leonardo next door, which made everyone happy.  It was going to make things easier for us too, having them all in one room.  Panaceia then fussed over the other three, then double-checked everyone before finally leaving them alone to rest.  We slipped out the doors as Michaelangelo was already starting to snore.

"You're awfully quiet."

"Me?"

"No, the other Athena."

"Haha."

"Anything on your mind?"

"Is that a trick question?  When is there not something on my mind?"

"No, I guess that was more like, is there anything on your mind that you're actually going to share with me?"

"Oh."  I smiled as we stepped into the lift.

"Well?"

"I was just thinking about a conversation that Leonardo and I were having before you came in.  I've been feeling badly ever since they got here, thinking that there was more we could have done, that we should have gotten there sooner."

"I've felt like that too."

"Yet, there's Leonardo, the worst of the four, thanking us for saving them, and just accepting what's happened as their destiny."

"Destiny, huh?"

"Some destiny."

"Now, weren't you the one telling me that it would all work out for them and I needed to look on the bright side of the situation?"

I didn't reply.

"He's just trying to deal with what's happened in the way he knows best, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"For someone who doesn't know him, you seem to know him pretty well."

"Yeah, and all this time I thought that was your department."

"Ha!"

**Panaceia:**

We didn't say anything as we got off the lift and headed to our rooms, but there was one question I still wanted to ask.

"Hey, Athena?"

"Yeah?"  She paused in the doorway of her room. 

"How did you know?"

"About Leonardo?"

"Yeah."

"I just felt it.  I woke up in a complete panic."

"Oh."  That was so like Athena.

"Funny thing, though…from now on I'm going to have to wear real pajamas to bed."

"Why?  You hate pajamas."  Ever since we were kids, Athena would sleep with the least amount of clothing on as possible.  Thank god we had our own rooms.

"Yeah, I know, but it's better than standing around in front of company in your skimpy little baby blue underwear."

"You didn't…"

"I did."  She started to blush a little.

"Oh my…"

"Night, Panaceia."

"Good night Athena."  I had all I could do not to laugh before the doors to my room slid shut.

I smiled to myself as I got back in bed.  It had been an eventful 24 hours, to say the least.  Psyche and Nemesis were scheduled to return in the afternoon.  Hopefully they would be bringing some answers with them.  I would have liked to ask Athena a few more questions, but they could wait.  

Now that our guests were all awake and in far more stabile condition, I felt as thought I should have been feeling better about the whole situation.  Instead I couldn't ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad was coming; I just didn't know what.


	10. Introductions

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

Chapter 10 

**Leonardo:**

I lay awake in that bed for a long time.  I was tired, but there was too much on my mind for sleep.  I could tell my brothers were sleeping though.  Michaelangelo had practically fallen asleep while he was being examined.  Poor guy, being the most emotional of the four of us, I'm sure this was taking an extra-hard toll on him.  I wished I had gotten more time to talk with them alone.  There was still a lot I didn't understand.  How had we even ended up here in the first place?  None of them seemed to remember, and neither did I.  Oddly none of us had asked our rescuers either.  I wanted to look at those files they took as soon as everyone was awake again.  Maybe they would provide us with some clues.

Everyone back home must have been so worried during all of this time.  I was sure Master Splinter had aged another 5 years as a result of this.  I worried about him a lot.  He wasn't getting any younger.

It was hard to believe that we were on an island in the middle of the Pacific.  I wondered how much we didn't know about the "goddesses" of the house.  I was sure there was much more to them than we had been told.  I wanted to meet the rest of them.  They didn't look very old, but they acted like they were.  If it weren't so impolite to ask a woman her age, I would have.  I knew that everything that had happened was for a reason, but as usual it would drive me crazy until I knew the reason.

**************************************************************************************************************************************

**Iris:**

Panaceia was downstairs giving our guests a virtual tour of the place; the boys wanted to see the place, but they still weren't ready to be up and about just yet, so Panaceia gave them the next best thing.  I trusted her to know enough to leave certain rooms out of the tour.

I looked up as the doors slid open for Athena.  Psyche and Nemesis had just arrived and would be up to report at any minute.

"Panaceia's still playing tour guide."

I returned her playful grin.  "So it would seem.  She certainly has taken a liking to them."

"You would too if you spent time down there.  They're quite the charmers."

"Mmm…well, in that case, maybe it's better if I don't; one of us should keep her head."

"Does that always have to be you?"

I stared to reply, but Psyche and Nemesis entered at that moment.  Despite having worked non-stop for the last five days, Psyche was as usual the picture of energy.

"Hello darlings!"  She cooed.

I didn't waste any time, I wasn't really in the mood.  "What did you find?"

Now it was Neme's turn.  "Well, so much for hello and how are you?"

"Sorry, it's been a long 48 hours around here.  I told you, they're all up now."

"They're all up?"

"Yes, the last one woke yesterday."

Psyche sighed heavily.  "That's just great; so we've got to stay up here and do the boring stuff while Panaceia's downstairs having fun with them."

Athena broke in.  "Yeah, it's been a regular bowl of cherries keeping them alive."

"Sorry, Athena.  I know it's been stressful, but now's the fun part!  I can't wait to meet them now that they're all in one piece again!"

"You will, but this is important for them too."

**Nemesis:**

"Alright, here's what we got, which I'll warn you, was basically nothing."

"The visit to the original site got us zip, zero, nada.  Hey, what can I say, we're a little too good at our job.  There wasn't so much as a 1-inch piece of that place still intact.  So, we went to the other lab in California that you wanted us to check out.  No leads.  We combed that place and couldn't find one way to connect one to the other.  So, back in New York, we watched the reporter for a while.  Nothing."

"Yeah, I definitely didn't get any vibe off her that she was connected in any way.  Her boyfriend's kinda cute though."  Psyche grinned.  She could be such a ditz.

"So, _anyway_, without knowing the location where they were taken from or why or how, we've basically run out of leads.  We've got nothin'.  So we came back here."

"Oh, but we did make one other stop before coming back…"

"Which was…?  You know you're not supposed to take detours without letting us know."  Iris was giving us one of her signature 'stern' looks.  Whatever.  At first I thought Psyche's idea was stupid, but she did have a point.

"Well, see, I was thinking that our guests have always had their shells as clothes and now they don't have them and we don't exactly have much that would fit them, or that they would want to wear…so we went shopping!"

"You bought them clothes?"  Athena looked at me with wild amusement.

"All kinds!  I wasn't sure what they would like, but Panaceia had told me their approximate size so I guessed on that, but I think they'll fit, and I really hope they like them.  Speaking of which, what have they been wearing in the meantime?"  Psyche had that mischievous glint in her eye that always signaled trouble for someone.

**Panaceia:**

I entered the room just in time to hear about Psyche's little shopping spree for the boys.  I had to admit it was a good idea.

"They've been wearing shorts made of the synthetic material our suits are made from.  It's the only thing I can create on-site, so I had to make it work.  They don't seem to have noticed or cared that they're just walking around in underwear.  They've got more important things on their minds.  Besides, underwear was apparently the only clothing required down in the med area last night."  I shot a devilish look at Athena.

Psyche's eyes got wide.  "Oh, there is definitely a good story here!  Please share!"

I laughed as the color rose in Athena's face again.  "Oh, Athena can tell you about it in the lift on the way down.  We'll go pay them a visit right now.  Are you done in here?"  I directed the question at Iris.

"Yes, I suppose we should all go down and introduce ourselves.  Oh, and I don't want you two…"  she shot warning looks at Psyche and Nemesis, "saying one word about following the reporter or being back in NY for any reason other than shopping."

"Aye, aye, captain."  Psyche gave a dramatic salute with her right hand.  She was obviously bursting to go see them.

**Psyche:**

I was so excited to see them!  Our whole lives had become all about them for the past two weeks and I'd never even said hello!  I knew they would wake up while we were gone, but oh well.

As we walked into the med room I could see that they looked so much better than the last time I had seen them.  They had beautiful eyes!  I gave them a big smile as Panaceia introduced us.

Leonardo was the one that I hadn't really seen much of.  He looked like he was doing pretty well though.  I couldn't believe Athena had been down here in her underwear!  I guess it was pretty fair though; we certainly knew what they looked like under their clothes…

**Michaelangelo:**

I couldn't get over the five of them; it was like I hadn't noticed, before they were all standing there together, how incredibly beautiful they were.  Ok, well, maybe I noticed last night when Athena was running around half-naked…

I couldn't believe our luck that we'd been rescued at all, but to be rescued by probably the five most beautiful women I'd ever seen…man, we must have done something really good to deserve this.

Panaceia was talking away, and then Iris took over, explaining everything that Psyche and Nemesis basically hadn't found out.  I was sort-of half listening, I knew somebody would explain it to me later if I had a question…I was just trying to burn the five of them into my memory for future reference.

Panaceia was the shortest of the five of them, but not much shorter than Psyche.  She had the warmest brown hair that was probably pretty long, but I wasn't sure because she'd had it up in a bun every time I'd seen her.  I wasn't sure, but I think her eyes were blue.  I liked the way her mouth moved when she talked.

Athena was taller than Panaceia, but shorter than Iris.  I was betting about 5'5" or so.  She had long, straight dark hair with vibrant red highlights.  She had a great facial structure and really warm golden skin.  I wondered if she didn't have some Asian blood in her veins, and there was definitely something exotic about her.

Iris was the tallest and there was no question that she commanded respect.  She stood there straight, like Leo would in front of Master Splinter, watching us with eyes like a cat.  I'd never seen eyes the color of hers.  They were almost gold and they stood out against her dark skin.  She had jet-black hair that was cut really short.

Nemesis was between Athena and Iris' height.  She had pale skin, reddish brown hair that was cut short and wisped out in every direction, and the brightest green eyes.  I'll admit there was something about her that was just a little scary.  When she put those eyes on you, you'd swear she could burn a hole right through you if she wanted.

Psyche was obviously the fireball of the group.  She had blondish hair and deep blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean.  Her skin was warm and brown, and she looked like she'd spent a lot of fun days in the sun; I was a little jealous.  She caught me looking at her and smiled.  I smiled back and looked away.

"Well, I must return upstairs.  I have some things to take care of."  Iris nodded at all of us, and dismissed herself.  Mental note: I didn't want to get on her bad side.

**Athena:**

"Well, I know Panaceia said you guys are pretty much still confined to your beds for a little while longer, but Neme and I brought you some stuff for later when you need it.  Hang on just a minute, and I'll go get it!"  Neme followed Psyche out of the room, mumbling about her never being able to get it all in there by herself.  The boys looked curious and I gave Panaceia a knowing grin.

"Clothes!"  Psyche squeaked as they piled the bags on the floor.

"You bought us clothes?"  Michaelangelo stared wide-eyed at the bags on the floor.  It did look like they'd bought out half the stores in New York.

"Yes, well, we didn't know what you'd like so we just got some of everything!"  Psyche looked so proud of herself; it was adorable.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

**Panaceia:**

"Well, if you keep progressing at the rate you're going and if you're feeling up to it tomorrow maybe you could join us upstairs for dinner."  Psyche looked far more excited about it than they did.

"For now though, we'll keep you on the liquid diet."  Raphael shot me a less-than-enthused look, but I ignored it.  

"Panaceia?"

"Yes, Leonardo?"

"Do you suppose we could call home again?  I'd like to talk to our sensei."

"Absolutely.  Your brothers know where the phone is and how to work it; you're welcome to use it anytime."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome; we'll be going now and give you some privacy."

Psyche looked disappointed, but didn't argue.

**Leonardo:**

"Can somebody dial home?"  I looked over to see that Donatello had a huge grin on his face.  

"I was hoping I'd get to do this!  Computer: Phone."  

There was a short pause and then the computer replied, "Number."

Donatello gave the number and within seconds there was ringing.  We waited, but after 8 rings Donatello told the computer to hang up.

"He must be meditating or something.  Let's try April; we didn't get to talk to her last time."

After three rings, April answered.  She didn't exactly have the reaction I was hoping for.

"Oh my god, I am so glad you called!  I don't know where you are or if you're in any shape to get back here, but that's exactly what you need to do!"

"What is it, April?"

"It's Splinter, you've got to get here as fast as you can…"


	11. Back in the City

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

Chapter 11 

**Athena:**

Within an hour of the call, we were all on one of the mini-jets, headed to New York.  Iris called Rhea and cleared it with her; she insisted that Panaceia and I travel with them, as the boys weren't even close to being rehabilitated.  Panaceia and I helped Leonardo on board, but the others managed themselves just fine.  It turned out to be a really good thing that Psyche had bought them those clothes; they'd all found something suitable that fit them.  Luckily, Psyche and Nemesis had great taste when it came to men's clothing.  They looked different with their new clothes on.  If it were another time and place, I would have told them how nice they looked.  Now was definitely not the time though and no one was saying much of anything, understandably.  I didn't exactly know what to expect in New York, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that it wasn't good.

**Leonardo:**

I felt sick, but I wasn't about to let anyone in on that little secret.  I had to be the strong one, even if I was the weakest right now.  None of us had spoken; I didn't know about anyone else, but I really had nothing to say.  April said Splinter was sick, and the panic in her voice told me that it wasn't just a cold or the flu.  Splinter almost never got sick, not that I could remember anyway.  Even if he got injured, he was a fast healer.  

I had a knot in my stomach that just wouldn't quit.  I just kept trying to meditate, repeating to myself that he would be okay, that everything would be all right.

**Michaelangelo:**

Nobody spoke during the ride.  It was driving me crazy.  I picked at the side pocket on my cargo pants, not knowing what to do with myself.  With everything we'd already been through in the last 48 hours, I couldn't believe that we were on a jet to New York because Splinter was sick.  I couldn't remember him ever being sick when we were growing up, and I had no idea what to expect.  I wanted Athena or Panaceia to lean over and say that everything would be fine, just like they kept telling us back at their house.  If they could heal us after what we'd been through, they would definitely be able to help Splinter.  I was glad they were with us.

**Raphael:**

Splinter was sick.  April didn't give any of the details, but there was no way that it was good.  I found myself asking questions like, what would we do without him?  I tried to keep my mind away from that.  I looked around at my brothers, and they looked like I was feeling.  Michaelangelo looked like he was going to cry at any second, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did, Donatello was lost in space, it was hard to ever tell what he was thinking anyway, and Leonardo looked like he was going to be sick any minute now.  For once, I knew exactly how he felt.

**Donatello:**

By the time that Nemesis came over the com system and told us we were landing, I realized that I'd spent the entire flight thinking about Splinter and all the time I'd spent alone with him.  He understood me in a way that none of my brothers did.  He had always been there for us, no matter what.  Now we were going to have to be there for him, and I wasn't sure that we were prepared, mentally or physically, to do that.  One thing was for sure, I was really glad I wasn't going to be the only person with some medical expertise.

***************************************************************************************************************

**April:**

I held his hand while he slept.  That was about all he did now.  I knew he could sense my fear and worry, and I hated myself for not being able to control my emotions better.  The guys would be here soon, they promised.  I couldn't wait for some help.  Splinter wouldn't let us move him up to our apartment so Casey and I traded off shifts, never leaving him alone.  He didn't say anything, but I think he appreciated it.

I still couldn't stop feeling partially to blame for his being sick.  I should have kept a closer eye on him while they were gone; I knew it was killing him not knowing where they were.  I should have made sure he was eating and taking care of himself.  I guess I just got too used to him always being the caretaker.  I never thought he wouldn't take care of himself.

"Hey, April."

Michaelangelo's voice from the doorway nearly caused me to jump out of my skin.  I turned to look, and saw him standing there with his brothers, varying expressions of concern on their faces.  Two females were holding up Leonardo, who wasn't looking very well.  I assumed they were the girls that the guys had talked about.  As upset as I was about Splinter, I didn't have to work hard to get a big smile on my face.  It was so good to have them here, and know they were okay.  I was across the room in a heartbeat, and gave Michaelangelo a big hug.

"Hey, yourself!"

He smiled and it was right then that I realized what didn't look right about them.  I moved one of my hands across his back again.

"Your…?"

"Yeah, I know, we didn't want to tell you guys over the phone."

"But you said you were fine!"

"We are…mostly.  We knew you'd worry if we told you so we figured we'd wait until you could see for yourself that it didn't kill us."

"I don't understand how."

"Well neither do any of us, really.  It's okay though.  We're managing."

The others had gravitated over to Splinter while Michaelangelo and I were talking, and Michaelangelo just gave me a weak smile and squeezed my hand before joining them.

I turned back around to face them, letting their new forms sink in.  They looked smaller, and yet…taller or something.  I wasn't sure.  I shook my head.  There were more important things to think about right now.

"How long has he been this way?"

The lighter-haired one didn't look up, but I knew she was directing the question at me.

"About two days now, I guess.  I came down here to check on him the other day right before we got the phone calls from you guys, and he mentioned that he wasn't feeling well.  I guess I just thought he was making himself sick with worry.  As soon as I got your message, I came down here again.  He said he'd talked to you and we talked for a little while, but he said he was tired and went to bed.  I didn't think he was acting right, so I came to check on him the next morning before work.  He didn't get out of bed and I knew something was really wrong."

"Has he been conscious at all?"

"Sometimes.  It's barely enough to get him to eat or drink though."

The dark-haired one looked up at me just then.  "I'm sorry, we're being rude.  I'm Athena, and this is my sister, Panaceia."

"Nice to meet you."

"You also."

**Panaceia:**

Their fear and concern all around me was making it hard to concentrate, but I wasn't about to tell them to leave when we just got here.

"Athena, would you go help Neme bring the rest of the supplies down?  I need the rest of my things to do this right."

"Sure, I'll be right back.  April, would you mind giving me a hand?  You can meet another one of our sisters too."

Athena must be reading my mind again.  As soon as they were out of the room, I turned to the boys.

"I need to run some tests to be sure, but I'm going to be honest with you right now that this does not look good.  That doesn't mean he won't get better; he's just very sick right now.  He's almost completely unresponsive.  As soon as I know exactly what's wrong I can start treating him.  Remember that we hold the most advanced medical technology on the planet.  He's in the very best hands possible."

They didn't say anything, but they looked a little reassured.  I knew they felt helpless, but there wasn't much I could do about that.

"I need you all to listen very closely to me.  I know that you're concerned and I know you've all forgotten about yourselves and your own state ever since you heard your sensei was ill.  However, I cannot have you neglecting your own health.  You are by no means well again…especially you, Leonardo.  It is very important that you follow Athena's or my instructions.  We're going to have to care for all of you at the same time.  There are only two of us and five of you; it'll make it much easier to do our jobs if you just don't argue about your own treatment."

"Don't worry, we'll take our shots like good boys."  Michaelangelo tried to reassure me.

"If that was all it was, I wouldn't be giving you this lecture, Michaelangelo.  It's really important right now that we re-train your bodies to accept the change that's happened.  I know you're going to want to stay by his side constantly, but we're going to need you to get up and move a lot."

"You mean, like physical therapy?"

"Well, yeah.  We have to be sure that everything has re-connected in the right way."

Leonardo gave me a serious look.  "We'll be the best patients we can, but understand that as long as he's sick, our own health is our second priority."

"Fine."

**************************************************************************************************************************

**April:**

As we all sat around in the kitchen, I had no idea how she was getting them to eat.  Panaceia had insisted that we all leave her alone with Splinter for a while so that she could work, and Athena had herded the guys out of the room and was now feeding them.  I knew them well enough to know that eating was about the last thing on their minds right now, but she obviously wasn't taking no for an answer.

I was glad that their sister Nemesis had left.  Not that she didn't seem nice, but there was something about her that made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  When she looked at me, I had a hard time breathing.  I wondered if she had that effect on everyone.

I didn't know much about these sisters, but I knew they had saved the guys, and I guess that was all I needed to know, really.  They looked normal enough, if normal was appearing like they had just walked off the pages of _Cosmo_.  I was sure that it was just the overwhelming nature of their situation, but the boys seemed completely oblivious to the attractiveness of their rescuers, which was not like them at all.

I watched the four of them eating in silence.  It was strange to see them fully dressed in clothing that actually fit them.  On the rare occasions when they did wear clothing, it was always large and baggy to fit over their shells.  They looked nice; almost normal, I thought and then immediately chided myself for thinking that.

I looked at the clock on the wall; Casey would be here soon.  I hoped he wouldn't make a big deal out of the guys being shell-less; they certainly didn't seem to want to talk about it.  I also hoped he wouldn't make a scene over the sisters, but that seemed highly unlikely.  Even if the guys were oblivious, there was no way Casey would be…


	12. Discovery

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

**_Please review…even a bad review is better than no review!  Thanks!_**

Chapter 12 

**Leonardo:**

When Panaceia finally allowed us back in Splinter's room, it was obvious she'd been hard at work.  He looked much better.  He was still resting, but now he appeared to be resting more comfortably.  We all took our places around his bed, none of us speaking.  My back was starting to hurt, but I still assumed Lotus position and began to meditate.  I would offer him whatever strength I had.

**Athena:**

I left the room with Panaceia, who looked less than pleased.  Not wanting to alert anyone else, I reached my mind out to my sister's to form a connection.  Once I had it, spoken words were unnecessary.

_What did you find?_

_He has something like pneumonia._

_What do you mean "something like"?_

_Well, it's attacking his body the way that pneumonia would, but after analysis, I know that's not what it is._

_You don't know what it is…?_

_No, and that bothers me immensely._

_Is it anything contagious?_

_No, that much I'm sure of._

_Panaceia, we're psithing, and you of all people should know that lies are obvious here.  What aren't you telling me?_

_You know me, I hate getting anyone's hackles up without just cause._

_What is it?_

_It's him.  The whole time I was examining him, I couldn't get over it.  I had such a strong feeling, that I ran his DNA through the scanner.  It's just about perfect, Athena.  It's a lot like ours; not exactly, but it's close._

_That's not possible, is it?_

_I don't know; I think we should let Iris know though so that she can ask Rhea what we should do, if anything._

_You're sure about this, it's not some fluke?  I mean, I know he's their sensei and wise and all, but he's a rat!_

_It doesn't matter, Athena._

_What about them?_

_I thought about that too.  I've done some work with their DNA, but only enough to replicate their skin.  I didn't have a reason, so I didn't run it through the scanner.  I had other things to think about at the time._

_Do it now, then._

_I can't.  I don't have any samples here._

_Don't worry about that, then.  I'll get the samples._

_If they're like his though…_

_Then everything just changed._

"So, how is he?"

April's question interrupted our thoughts and I broke the connection, allowing Panaceia to respond.

"Well, it looks like pneumonia, it's hard to say at this point…"

"You can treat him though, right?"

"I'll do my best."

I watched the exchange between April and Panaceia, but suddenly noticed a man standing further down the hallway.  This must be the boyfriend of whom Psyche had spoken.

He saw that I noticed him and approached us.

**Casey:**

So these were the babes that rescued the guys.  I thought they said there were five; the rest must be in the other room.  Donatello mentioned they were named after Greek goddesses.  Yeah, I could definitely see that.  Goddess would have been one of the first words to come to mind.

"Hello, ladies."

April obviously didn't know I was there and turned around to give me a dirty look before introducing me.

"This is Casey Jones."

The dark-haired one narrowed her eyes and looked me over.  Not the overly friendly type, apparently.  The other one introduced them.

"Hello, I'm Panaceia and this is my sister, Athena.  The boys have told us about you."

"Yeah, I bet they did."  I hoped it was all good stuff, but knowing them, probably not.

"So, where are the dome-heads?"

"Casey…"  April gave me her classic shut-yer-friggin'-mouth look.  

Just then Raphael came out through the door to Splinter's room.

"I thought I heard yer yap blabberin' away out here."

**April:**

As soon as Raph came through the doorway, I braced for Casey's reaction.

"Hey, man…"  Here it comes, I thought.

There was a pause when no one even seemed to breathe, then,

"What the _hell_ happened to you?"

Chalk another point up for Casey's tact.  I sighed.

To his credit, Raphael didn't seem phased in the least.  "Well, somebody tried to make us their lab rats, but these ladies hauled our asses outta there before they could finish what they started."

"Wow."

"Yeah, trust me, it's way weirder for me than you."

"Yeah, I bet."

The two of them were starting into their usual banter when Michaelangelo poked his head out into the hallway.

"Come quick!  He's waking up!"

************************************************************************************************************

**Panaceia:**

For someone so ill, he was doing a great job of acting well.  He was alert and talkative, chatting with his sons as they brought him up to speed on everything that had happened.  

"Well, it sounds as though we are greatly indebted to you and your sisters.  I thank you for saving my sons, and for helping me as well."

"You're very welcome."

"I hope they've been no trouble for you."

"None at all.  We've enjoyed having them as our guests.  Our sister, Psyche, was upset to see them go so soon and jealous that she didn't get to tag along for this trip."  I thought back to the fit she threw as we were leaving.  It was totally inappropriate, and yet totally the kind of thing I had come to expect from her.  She could be so juvenile.

"Ah, yes.  Well, my sons can be very charming, but only when they want to be, I assure you."  The four of them squirmed, embarrassed by his last comment.  "They also know how to be great pains in the neck, but I hope you won't have to see that first hand."

I looked over to see Athena crack a huge smile at that.

**Splinter:**

I knew that I was making my sons uncomfortable, but it wasn't often that I was in this position, so I was taking advantage of it.

Our two visitors were unique even beyond their origins, as my sons had explained.  I could sense it, an energy unlike any other that I had ever felt.  It electrified the air around them and seemed to draw other energy to them.  They were powerful; there was no question about that.

"So the five of you live by yourselves?"

"Yes, but our mother checks in on us on a regular basis."  Athena finally joined the conversation.  It had started to make me uneasy the way she was just sitting back and observing, even though I knew it shouldn't.

"You seem young to be living on your own."

As I had predicted, she did not miss the question behind the statement.  She looked at me thoughtfully, a slight smile playing at one corner of her mouth.  "We are old enough."

At her obvious avoidance of the question, I couldn't help a small laugh, which led to a bit of a coughing fit.  Panaceia reached over and touched my arm, warmth radiating from her hand up through my arm and into my chest.  The coughing subsided.  I looked into her eyes, and she knew that I knew.  I said nothing.

They were unique, indeed.  I was suddenly very glad that my sons had ended up in their care.  It was probably the best place in the world for them in their current state.

I suddenly felt tired, and Panaceia seemed to sense it immediately.

"Why don't we all leave and give you a chance to rest.  You need your sleep."

I nodded in agreement.

**Donatello:**

We all stood and bowed before leaving the room.  I was feeling better now that he had woken up and we'd gotten the chance to speak.  Despite my uplifted spirits, I had the distinct feeling that something else was going on.

As soon as Master Splinter had started speaking with Panaceia, I felt as though we were completely out of the loop.  I couldn't really explain why, but something more was going on than what was being said.  I really wanted to know what it was, but I somehow knew I'd have to wait for my answer.


	13. Patients

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  The rest of them are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

**_Thanks to those of you whose great feedback keeps me rolling on this!  Enjoy!_**

Chapter 13 

**Raphael:**

"Are we almost done here?"

"Yes, Raphael, almost.  Of course, things would go a lot faster if you'd stop squirming every time I touch you.  I know that shot wore off, and I don't want to give you another one."

"Well, it tickles now."

"Well, this won't tickle, but I still need you to hold still.  You're not a very cooperative patient."

"I'm not a very cooperative anything."

I flashed her one of my best grins and she rolled her eyes.

"You know, Athena, Mikey and Donnie are going to start to get jealous if I don't leave this room pretty soon.  You didn't spend this much time with them."

"Raphael, will you quit worrying about your brothers and hold still?"

She ran her hands along my spine for about the tenth time.  It was hard not to get a chill when she did that.  That part of my body had never been open to touch before and it was a strange sensation, to say the least.  Her hands stopped near the base of my neck and she worked her thumbs across one vertebrae.  It actually felt kind of good.

_Crack!_

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Raphael, you were a little out of alignment there.  All better now."

"Ow!"

"Oh, stop being such a baby.  At least I'm done with you now!"

"Aw, and it was just starting to get good!"  I glared at her to let her know I was being completely sarcastic, just in case she didn't catch it in my tone of voice.

"You know, you could have just kept going with that massage…"

"Raphael, are you…?"

"I'm leaving."

"That's what I thought."

I grinned at her again before turning to leave.

"Hey Raphael, could you send Leonardo in?"

"Is he going to get his back cracked?"

"Well, I don't know until I see him."

"Are you going to stick a needle in his arm?"

"Yes."

"Well, as long as he's going to get _something_ painful, I'll send him right in."

"You're terrible, Raphael."

"Yeah, I know.  Oh, and Athena…"

"Yeah?"

"It's just Raph."

"Raph it is then.  Go get your brother."

"Sure thing."

**Athena:**

I watched him leave the room.  I could spot him from his brothers a mile away with that walk.  I was pretty sure he had always had that distinct stride, even before he lost his shell.  It had a lot of attitude in it, which was appropriate for him.

All in all, the boys were looking pretty good.  Of course, I had saved the worst for last.  Leonardo really wasn't even supposed to be out of bed right now.  Panaceia and I had tried to at least confine him to bed rest when he wasn't visiting with Splinter, but he just wasn't having that.  It wasn't that he was trying to be a jerk about it; he just wasn't going to go lay down with everything that was going on.  He spent just about every waking hour at Splinter's bedside, talking with him if he was awake, or meditating if he wasn't.  I hated to do it, but it was about time to get a little stricter with that boy.

"Hey Athena, Raph said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Leonardo.  I'm just checking on everyone's progress while Panaceia is looking after your sensei."

"Yeah, I know I'm supposed to be resting, but you understand.  That's just not realistic right now."

"Oh, I see, but permanently damaging your spine is?"

He gave me a stern look.  "You're not going to be nice about this, are you?"

"No, I have to say I wasn't really planning on it.  Now, lay down on the bed please.  The sooner we get started, the sooner it will be over."

**Leonardo:**

I got down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.  I was pretty sure I didn't like playing the role of patient, but I would try to be cooperative.  It was the least I could do, seeing as I'd been blatantly disobeying their instructions ever since we left their house.

"I need you to take your shirt off, Leonardo."

"Oh, sure."  Duh.

She was over on the other side of the room, fiddling with something.  I unbuttoned the shirt and threw it down near my feet.  It was strange; we'd basically walked around naked our whole lives and yet sitting on that bed with no shirt I felt more naked than I'd ever felt.

"Okay, just lay back and relax.  I'm going to give you a shot first to relax your muscles a little and dampen your nerves.  Don't worry because it will wear off pretty quickly."

I did as she said and she gave me the shot in my arm.  Oddly enough, it really didn't hurt at all.  It wasn't like I'd really ever had any shots in my life, but I thought they were supposed to hurt.

"Alright, just take a few deep breaths in and out."

I breathed deeply and noticed my arms start to feel rather tingly.  Athena placed her left hand at the base of my rib cage and ran her right hand along my arm, poking and prodding along the way.  I could feel her hand moving, but not very well.  She moved to the other side and did the same.  I wasn't sure exactly what she was doing, but I tried to just lie there and relax.  I closed my eyes and continued my deep breathing.  Her hands moved down my torso very methodically.  It was like she was trying to map out my entire body just from touch.  I was suddenly very glad she'd given me that shot.  I didn't think I wanted to be able to feel this any more than I already could.

"Not bad from the front, really.  You're progressing better than I thought.  Of course, your back is bound to be the worse of the two.  Can you roll over for me?"

"Sure."

I rolled over onto my stomach and brought my arms up under my head.  She got up and walked to the head of the bed.  I couldn't see her and she didn't do anything for a minute or so.  When she finally did touch one hand to my neck, it made me jump.

"Sorry."

"No problem."

She proceeded to run her hands over my spine in about six different directions.  She sighed a couple of times and finally ended with a "Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Well, just what I thought, you shouldn't be sitting up so much, especially in meditation.  That's too much pressure on your vertebrae while they're still trying to settle.  Hasn't your back been hurting?"

"Only a little…"  That wasn't the whole truth, but I knew I was in trouble anyway so there was no sense in making it worse.

"Leonardo…"

"I know, so what can we do about it?"

"For one, if I catch you sitting up like that again your ass is mine."

"And two?"

"Get up."

I rolled off the bed and stood in front of her.  Damn this naked feeling, I hated it!  She walked behind me and wrapped her left arm around my waist, then pushed my torso forward as she ran her right arm up my spine.  For someone who didn't look very big, she was obviously really strong.  There were a couple of snaps and pops as she ran her hand along, and it actually felt really good.  I hadn't realized how tight my back was.

She brought her right arm around my chest and slowly pulled me back up straight.  I tried to be as relaxed as I could, but it was getting difficult.  That shot seemed to be wearing off.

She placed both hands on my shoulders, still standing behind me.  She ran her hands down my arms and wrapped them around my wrists, pulling them up in front of my chest.  The shot was definitely wearing off.  Out of nowhere she lifted me off the floor and back.  I think every single vertebra cracked.

"You're a lot stronger than you look."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you, and you're not even in your top form."

I smiled at her as she came around in front of me.  Flattery really will get you everywhere.

"Can you put your arms back up across your chest again?"

I did as she instructed, and this time she wrapped her arms around me from the front.  Our faces were about two inches apart.

"Hi."  She smiled.

"Hi."  

"You need to relax."

"I am relaxed."

"No, you're not."

"I'm trying."

"Uh-huh…am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Well, now that you mention it."

She grinned from ear to ear and without warning picked me right up off the floor again and set me back down.

"Ow."

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to start whining like Raphael.  I'm not even done with you yet!"

"Oh great.  What next?"

"Sit down on the rug."

I sat down with my legs out in front of me.

"Good, now arms up over your head and lean forward."

Once again, I did as she told me.

"Good, now hold it right there."

The stretch actually felt really good, especially after her snapping my back around.  I let my head hang down and relaxed.

I heard her step behind me, and she put both hands on either side of my lower back.  To be honest, it was probably a little lower than I was comfortable with her having her hands, but I wasn't about to say anything.  She moved them slowly up along my spine, and I didn't even really know what she was doing but it felt incredible.  I could almost feel my spine lengthening out.  She reached the top of my neck and slid her hands out to the sides of my face, working her thumbs along the back of my skull.

"You should think about a career in massage."

"Ha!  Mere mortals would melt at my touch."

"Yeah, I could see that.  Hey, so what does that make me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well if I'm not a mere mortal…"

"Are you melting?"

"Maybe."  God, she'd better stop soon because I was losing the ability to stop my own flirting.

As if she were reading my mind, she laughed and stood up, offering me a hand.  I took it and stood up, stretching.

"Much better."

"Good."

"So what's the prognosis?"

"Well, all in all you're doing pretty well, considering, but my old rule still stands.  I catch you sitting up like that anymore and you're not going to like the consequences."

"I'll try.  Anything else?"

"Yeah, before you go I need another blood sample from you."

"If you must."

"Just sit back down on the bed."

**Athena:**

I grabbed the needle and vial.  I felt so dishonest.  I didn't need his blood for any other reason than to run it through the scanner.  They put their trust in us and this is what I was doing with it.  I reminded myself that this had to be done.  We had to know.

"Well, I'll let you pick the arm."

He made a sour face, which made me laugh.

"What?"

"It's not like I'm asking you which arm you want me to hack off!"

"I know…here, take my left one."

I smiled to myself as he held out his arm.  They could be so child-like sometimes, and yet so old at others.  It made me wonder…

"Do you know how old you are, Leonardo?"

"I'll be 20 later this year."

"Wow."

"Wow?"

"Well, that's just older than I thought you were."

I put my thumb over the vein and stuck the needle in.  He made the sour face again.

"How old are you?"

"A lady never tells."  I watched the vial as it filled.

"You've got a needle in my arm and you're leeching blood from my veins—answer the question."

I looked up at him, but he was really serious.  Apparently the burning pain of the needle had caused him to lose his sense of humor, so I had a choice.  I decided to stick with my usual when it came to him; I told him the truth.

"16."

"What?!?"

"I knew you wouldn't believe it."

"Are you all 16?"

"Well, technically Iris is 17 because she just had her birthday three days before you guys came to stay, but the rest of us are all 16."

"Well I guess it's my turn to be wowed."

I capped the vial and slipped the needle back out of his arm, applying pressure with a piece of gauze.  I hated being away from home because we had to do things the old-fashioned way.  Oh well, it worked.

"So are you done torturing me now?"

"Yes, I think so.  Just remember, if you think this is torture it won't compare to what I'm going to do to you if you don't follow my instructions this time."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

"I mean it, Leonardo."

"I know you do."

"Oh, and Leonardo, do me a favor."

"Yeah?"

"Keep my age to yourself."

"Um, okay."

"Thanks."

"Athena?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Leo."

I smiled at him as he left.  There was no mistaking that they were brothers.


	14. New Developments

*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  They all belong to Mirage Studios and I am only borrowing them for the entertainment of the few who read this.  The rest of the characters are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!

_I've realized as I'm writing this why it is that I've been struggling with this story.  It's really just a long prologue/introduction to the story that will follow it.  So I hope that you're enjoying it, but the real action and drama are still to come!_

Chapter 14 

Panaceia:

I gave Splinter his 3rd injection of the day.  Despite my best efforts and all of Donatello's help, he was continuing to deteriorate.  Athena had only been gone 24 hours, but I could feel the pressure.  It was nice to have someone else here to lean on and help out.  At least Rhea had agreed to let me stay; I couldn't imagine how they would be doing without either of us.  I felt the burden of caring for all of them and dealing with their worry.  It was not something I enjoyed; I hoped Athena would finish her work and get back here soon.

*********************************************************************************

**Athena:**

As soon as that bimbo left, I was taking my shot.  I was tired of sitting out on that ledge having to listen to the two of them.  Disgusting.

If I'd had a gun, I could have shot him from where I was sitting, but I didn't and that wasn't my style anyway.  We weren't trained to use weapons like guns.  Technically we were all trained to kill with our bare hands, but for the most part it had never appealed to me as much as the sword.  Nemesis was the same way, but for her own reasons.  There was just something about having a sword in my hands; I couldn't explain it, it was something you understood or you didn't.  My other three sisters didn't, but I had a feeling the boys probably would.  I laughed at myself again for calling them boys.  I had to keep reminding myself that they were older than I was.  I wasn't sure that exactly qualified them as men though…

*********************************************************************************

**Donatello:**

I watched her from the doorway as she finished up the latest round of treatment.  From the look on her face, I knew I wasn't the only one that noticed we were no longer making any real progress.

"Panaceia?"

"Hi Donatello."

I took a few more steps into the room.  She was gathering up her things.

"Look, I'm glad I'm getting the opportunity to help while Athena's gone, just sitting back was driving me crazy.  The thing is, I'm not blind."

I stuck my arm out to stop her as she was walking to the other side of the room.  She looked at my arm, and then looked at me.

"I need to know the truth, Panaceia."

"The truth?"

"I know that you know more about his condition than you're saying.  Don't try to protect me, I can handle whatever it is as long as it's the truth."

She let out a long breath and didn't speak for a minute.  I could tell she was trying to decide how to answer me.  I could see how tired she looked; I didn't think she'd slept since Athena left.

"It's not good, Donatello."

"Be more specific."

"I can't really; I don't even know for sure what we're dealing with.  I've got a call in to home and we're waiting for Rhea to respond.  Until then, I just don't know."

"What do you need Rhea to tell you?"

"I don't know for sure what's infecting him and I need to know if Rhea has seen it before."

"Why would Rhea know?"

"It's complicated, Donatello, and I just can't go into that right now."

"You can't or you won't?"

"Please don't."

"You know, we haven't had much choice since the moment we woke up but to trust you.  I don't want to find out that trust is misplaced."

"It's not."

"Prove it."

She hung her head.  I felt bad for pushing at her when she obviously wasn't prepared for it.

"Fine, meet me back in here with your brothers in 10 minutes.  I'll tell you everything."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, you'd better appreciate it because it's my ass on the line for telling you."

**************************************************************************

**Athena:**

Finally!  I was starting to think he wasn't ever going to be done with her.  I moved to the other side of the window to get a better view now that the show was over.  She had excused herself to the ladies' room.  I considered waiting until she left altogether, but something in the back of my head was telling me to finish this up and get back to the guys.  Well, there was no time like the present.

I watched the piece of shit lying there smoking his cigarette.  I wasn't going to have to try too hard to get this one done.  I opened the window and entered the room without a sound.  Hell, I probably could have made a sound and he wouldn't have noticed.  Stupid fuck.  He took another puff from his cigarette.  My blade was at his throat before he could exhale.

His eyes grew wide, but he didn't make a sound.  Nice of him to make things so easy for me.  I tilted the blade to lie against the farther side of his neck, applying just enough pressure to draw blood.  He made a low whimper sound.  I'm sure it hurt.  I wanted it to.

I moved my face down lower to his and whispered in his ear.  "This will never make up for your crimes, but it's the best I can do."

I backed off to see the expression on his face.  Classic.  With a flick of my wrist, I finished the cut from ear to ear.

I wiped the blood from my blade onto his sheets.  What did he care anyway?

I turned to see the bimbo enter the room.  She looked from me to him, and before she could start to scream I was at her side, one hand grasped firmly around her neck.

"I didn't come here for you.  Stay quiet and you'll live.  One sound and I'll slice you wide open like your stupid ass boyfriend."

Her eyes were wide with fear.  She wouldn't make a sound.  I stepped directly in front of her, grabbing her neck so that she couldn't turn her head away from me.  I held her eyes with my own as I took hold of her mind.

Moments later, her eyelids closed and she went limp in my hand.  I set her down to the floor, confident that she would wake without remembering a thing.  Not that it really mattered; it wasn't like anyone on this planet hand any hope of catching up with one of us anyway.  Still, we preferred to keep a low profile.  It had always been done that way.

I was out the window and back up to the roof in a heartbeat.  There was somewhere else I needed to be.

*********************************************************************************

**Panaceia:**

Leonardo was the last to enter the room.  He had been really good about staying in bed since Athena had spoken with him.  She was talented that way.

"Well, we're all here—what is it?"  Raphael was already impatient.

I took a deep breath before beginning.  I hoped Athena wouldn't kill me for this when she got back here.  

"Remember how we told you that we're human, but just a more evolved form?"  They nodded their heads.

"Well, the reason that we are the way we are is because our DNA is different.  We look like humans, and for lack of a better term we are, but genetically we're not the same.  That difference is what allows us to do the things that we can do with our minds and bodies.  The core of our DNA is the same as a human, but there's more to ours.  There are genes in our DNA that don't exist in humans right now."

I paused, making sure that everyone was still with me.

"When we all arrived here, I performed a number of tests on your sensei to determine what the problem was and what the best treatment would be for him.  I had never seen anything quite like what he has, so I did further tests.  I thought it was perhaps his own unique form that had caused the infection itself to take on a different form.  I ran a sample I had taken from him through our DNA scanner.  What I found was…unexpected, to say the least."

I paused again, but knew there was no turning back now.

"Splinter has a genetic code that, aside from a few obvious differences, is quite similar to that of mine and my sisters'.   It has a lot of the "extra" genetic codes that we have, although it doesn't have all of them.  You told me that your sensei is very wise, and that he often seemed to know what you were thinking.  This would explain why that was the case."

Donatello started to ask me a question.

"Before you speak, there's more.  I was surprised by what I found, and I couldn't explain it.  Then I thought maybe it had to do with his mutation, and if that were true…then it would stand to reason that all of you would be carrying the same genetic coding.  I ran the blood samples that Athena took from each of you.  You don't have the same DNA as Splinter, obviously, but it's not the usual stuff either.  You actually have more coding than Splinter, but most of it is different.  I really haven't had the chance to sit down and go over it the way that I need to, but I know it's at least partially responsible for your above average strength and speed, and the fact that many times you don't even have to speak a word to communicate with each other."

"We're ninja; that's how we were trained."

"I know that's what you think, Michaelangelo, but what I'm saying is that a human could have been raised in an identical environment as yours and still not be able to do what you can do."

"I don't understand how our mutation would cause us to have similar DNA to yours."

"I don't really understand it either, Donatello, and I've been hoping Rhea will be able to provide some answers."

**Athena:**

I heard Panaceia's voice coming from Splinter's room and I walked down the hall.  I knew without actually hearing the words what she was telling them.  I hoped she knew what she was doing; telling them was a gamble, especially without having heard from Rhea.  Panaceia wasn't usually a risk-taker like that.

As I walked toward the room, a feeling of panic started to grow.  Something was wrong.  I stepped into the room and immediately knew why I'd had such an urge to get back here.


	15. Everything Changes

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  They all belong to Mirage Studios and I am only borrowing them for the entertainment of the few who read this.  The rest of the characters are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

Chapter 15 

**Athena:**

As soon as Panaceia realized what I had, she had forgotten anything and anyone else outside of her patient.  She was flying around the room, a one-woman emergency room team.  Meanwhile the four of them held back, the tension and worry from them practically smothering the atmosphere.  

I sensed them all, but my focus was elsewhere.  As best I could, I ignored the pandemonium happening all around me.  I held Splinter's hand and concentrated.  I had done it without thinking with Leonardo, and I knew I could do it now.  I just needed to concentrate…

_Splinter?_

_Athena…how did you find me here, child?_

_Oh, just one of the many tricks up my sleeve._

_Ha, you are even more powerful than I thought…but you should not be here._

_I know that, but…they're beside themselves right now, Splinter, I have to do something._

_You can't bring me back._

_Are you sure?_

_Yes._

_What about them?_

_I have always tried to prepare them for this day._

_It doesn't have to be today, Splinter.  Come back with me._

_I cannot._

_You can't leave them now; they need you._

_It's not in my hands anymore._

_What am I supposed to tell them?_

_Tell them I love them._

_Tell them yourself._

_Athena…_

_I know, Splinter, I know.  I just can't do this to them, not after everything they've already been through.  I cannot fail them in this._

_Listen to me.  This is not about them, and it is not about you.  I am old, it's my time.  Nothing you say can change that, even if we wanted to._

_There has to be a way.  You can't just leave without saying goodbye._

_I don't have the strength left, Athena._

_Then use mine._

_I cannot._

_Yes, you can._

_Talk to them, tell them through me.  Tell them everything you ever wanted to say, but never did._

_That would take another lifetime._

_You have to leave them something, Splinter._

_Alright, call them to you._

_Call them yourself._

_Athena…_

_There is a way, Splinter, I'll show you…_

**Panaceia:**

I concentrated on my work, and at the same time I was acutely aware of what Athena was trying to do.  Her psi-abilities were developed beyond any of the rest of us.  She was the pro in that area.  I looked at her sitting there beside him.  If I hadn't known better I would have said she was unconscious.  I knew that my efforts to save him were futile; I hoped that she was making greater progress.

"Come here, my sons."

I whipped my head around to her.  Had she really just spoken?  The boys seemed to be in shock as well, standing there staring at her.  We all waited, without moving, for her to speak again.

"Please, I don't have much time, come here."  Her voice was low and didn't sound exactly like her own.

The four of them were seated beside Splinter and Athena in two seconds.

"We are here."  Leonardo looked from Splinter to Athena, not sure where he needed to be directing his attention.

"Good.  Athena is helping me, but this is still going to take what little strength I have left."

"Master…"

"Please, do not speak.  There are things I need to say right now.  Things you need to hear.  I will not lie to you; I will be gone momentarily.  There is no way to bring me back, so I ask you not to even try.  Do not despair, for this is all part of a greater plan for the four of you.  I feel it in my heart.  I have taken you as far as I could.  I am so proud of what you have become, and I am sorry that I cannot be there for this next challenge, but I know that you will all be okay.  You have made some amazing new friends, and I know that already they care about you and they will take care of you when you need it.  More importantly, you still have each other.  I know that you will sometimes disagree and fight, but all brothers do that.  You love each other as much as you love me; I know that.  Do not forget that when I am gone.  Your strength will always lie in your unity.  I know that you will grieve, but trust that everything will turn out alright in the end.  Go with these sisters and know that you are not leaving me behind; I will always be with you in your hearts.  And for that, I will never really be gone.  I love you all, my sons."

**Athena:**

_Splinter?_

_Splinter?_

_Yes, child?_

_Please, Splinter, you can't leave._

_I must.  Don't worry, they will be alright._

_I know, but…_

_They are in your very capable hands now._

_Splinter, I don't know how…_

_Yes, you do.  You will care for them and protect them, as I would have.  Do not tell me you can't, for the desire to do just that is already alive in your heart.  I feel it._

_I cannot take your place._

_You won't and I am not asking you to.  You and your sisters hold the key to their future.  I know this now._

_What if they…_

_Give them time.  They will grieve; I cannot help that.  I have their past, and they will always carry that with them.  You have their future…love them well._

_Splinter…_

_Splinter!_

Author's note: I didn't want to put this at the beginning and ruin what was coming.  This chapter is what I've been dreading having to write.  I still don't know that I'm entirely satisfied with it, but I'm too drained to make any more changes.  Don't flame me for killing him off, it's all part of the grand scheme.  One more chapter and this story (prologue) is done!


	16. Every End Holds a New Beginning

_*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, or Casey Jones.  They all belong to Mirage Studios and I am only borrowing them for the entertainment of the few who read this.  The rest of the characters are mine; please don't borrow them without permission.  Thanks!_

**_This is it for this story…hope you've enjoyed!  Sequel to follow…just not sure when!_**

Chapter 16 

Raphael:

I just sat there.  I didn't know what else to do or say.  No one moved.  It all happened so fast, I think I was in shock.  He was gone.  He disappeared right in front of me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

"Athena?"

I looked up at Panaceia's voice.  She was kneeling in front of her sister, trying to get her attention.  Athena just sat there like she had been, head hung and eyes closed.  She put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a little shake.  Athena just flopped backward like a rag doll.

I moved to catch her, but Leo was faster than I was, and he grabbed her right before her head hit the floor.

"Athena!"  Panaceia put her hand to her neck, checking for a pulse.

"She's barely…"  She looked up at me in a panic, but as usual there wasn't anything I could do but sit back and watch.

"How did this…?  How do I…?  Oh my god…"

Thankfully, Donatello snapped out of it and stood up, taking over for the obviously incapacitated Panaceia.  As soon as he started to take charge, she followed suit.  They both ran around trying to figure out what to do, what would work.  Meanwhile Leonardo just sat there, holding her, an odd far-off look on his face as he stared at her hand.  I saw blood start to trickle from her nose.

Leonardo:

My body felt…far away.  I tried not to be alarmed; it felt sort of like meditation, but I wasn't meditating.  I was just concentrating on Athena; I couldn't lose two people today.

I sensed everything in the room around me, but it was almost like watching a movie.  My focus was on the person in front of me, and I'm not sure that I could have shifted it even if I had wanted to.  It felt like my very soul was reaching out for her, trying to hold onto her.  I didn't try to fight it, but instead gave myself up to the feeling.  The room disappeared and there was nothing.  I had never been this far in meditation.

Leonardo…

I heard her voice in my head, but it was so faint…

Athena, where are you?

Here.  The word seemed to echo all around me.

Where is here?

I don't know.

You're dying on me, Athena.

I know.

Why?

I can't stop it.  Help me.

Tell me how.

I don't know how.

What happened?

I connected my soul with your sensei's to give him the strength to say goodbye; I tried to save him, but I couldn't.  He's gone now, and I can't get back…you're the only one that can help me Leo.

Why me?

I saved your life once and because of that our souls are connected.  I need you to use that connection to save my life now.

How do I do that?

I can't explain it, Leo.

You have to!

I can't.  Just do it, Leo.  Bring me back.

I don't know how!

Please, Leo…

Athena!  

I could feel her presence fade, and I started to panic.  Oddly, through my panic, I figured it out…

Donatello:

Just as I was about to administer the injection, she bolted upright and gasped for air, clutching her chest.

"Athena!"

Panaceia was at her side within seconds, hugging her tightly.  I looked at my brother, still kneeling behind her and looking surprised and yet oddly happy at the same time.  Athena broke away from Panaceia and turned to him.

"Thank you."

"Don't ever do that to me again."

"I don't plan on it."

Panaceia handed her a cloth to wipe the blood from her face.  I had no idea what the hell had happened.

"Did I miss something?"  Apparently I wasn't the only one…

Athena just smiled up at Leo.

"No, let's just say Leo and I are even, and leave it at that."

"We're really the ones that should thank you anyway.  You gave us a great gift today.  Without you he wouldn't have been able to tell us goodbye."  At Leonardo's words, the mood of the room immediately shifted from relief back to sadness.

"Thank you, Athena."

"Please don't thank me.  It was the least I could do, and I still feel like I failed you."

"There was nothing any of us could have done."

Michaelangelo:

I blinked back tears; I wasn't ready to let my feelings out yet.  I couldn't look at him lying there on the floor beside me.  I looked at Athena instead.

"What are we going to do?"

Athena scooted herself over closer to me and put her hands on either side of my face.

"I promise you, Michaelangelo, that no matter what we do, everything will be okay.  The four of you are my responsibility now."

"We can take care of ourselves."  Leonardo's voice sounded unusually flat.  Athena responded to him, but never took her eyes off me.  There was something really reassuring about her.

"You're not in any shape to take care of yourselves right now, and besides, it was the last request of a dying man, and I have no intention of not honoring it."

"Splinter asked you to look after us?"  I shouldn't have been surprised; it was exactly the kind of thing he would have wanted.

"Yes, Michaelangelo."

"Do we have to go back with you?"

"We can do whatever the four of you want.  We can stay here, or we can go back to my house, or we can go to India for all I care.  It's whatever you want."

"I don't know what I want."

I looked into those eyes of hers, and I lost it.  I saw the tears start to pool in her own eyes as she pulled me to her.

"Shhhh…it's okay…I promise, it will all be okay…"

Author's note:

The title for this story came from an old poem written by Mountain Dreamer.  It's really beautiful, but the ending is my favorite:

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.  I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.  I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

This was the inspiration for this story.  What would sustain them when all else falls away?  I couldn't just take away Splinter, but I had to challenge them physically and mentally as well.  So the sequel will be how each one of them handles having their entire lives as they knew them stripped away.  Thanks for reading, and until next time…


End file.
